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Topic: For the cool-climate gardeners (Read 1045 times)

I was at the RI flower show today and met Petra from Fruition seeds (http://www.fruitionseeds.com/). I like to experiment with heirloom varieties in my garden that I can't get if I don't grow them myself. A lot of times that means you're rolling the dice with varieties that may not be suited for your locale, especially in cooler areas like the Northeast. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the seeds from Fruition are coming almost exclusively from the Northeast (their farm is in the Finger Lakes area, and the majority of seed they aren't growing themselves is coming from NY, VT, Quebec or Maine).

I never thought I'd be able to grow peanuts up my way, but I was able to grab a cold-hardy variety that originally came from from the northern peninsula of Michigan. I'm probably going to hit up their website for some ground cherries, tomatillos and canteloupe as well.

As much as I love sites like Baker City and Seed Savers Exchange, I was really psyched to find a seed grower who is focusing on regionally-adapted varieties. I will definitely be going out of my way to give these guys my business.

Thanks Eric, I'll check them out. We're actually getting out our garden map and ordering seeds and onion plants today. I also like to try out hard to get varieties. We get most of our stuff from Johnny's Seeds in Maine. We're also members of the Northeast Organic Farmer's Association so we are able to buy all of our supplies and amendments in bulk as well as some cool varieties of potatoes. I can't wait to get out there but right now I can walk over my garden fence on top of the snow. Somewhere under there we have over wintered parsnips. I am shoveling off the cold frame today. Can you tell from the length of this post that I'm itching to get out there?

Thanks Eric, I'll check them out. We're actually getting out our garden map and ordering seeds and onion plants today. I also like to try out hard to get varieties. We get most of our stuff from Johnny's Seeds in Maine. We're also members of the Northeast Organic Farmer's Association so we are able to buy all of our supplies and amendments in bulk as well as some cool varieties of potatoes. I can't wait to get out there but right now I can walk over my garden fence on top of the snow. Somewhere under there we have over wintered parsnips. I am shoveling off the cold frame today. Can you tell from the length of this post that I'm itching to get out there?

+1 on Johnny's Seeds. Good people, and great selection. I was just browsing their catalog this morning. I am starting to go a little crazy thinking about planting this year. I have a nice big palate to paint on now.

I was feeling a little smug listening to you cuss the snow...high pressure sitting on us since early January created spring like conditions for 6 weeks - grass growing, flowers blooming, birds singing/setting up territories - wacko.

I planted some lettuces and spinach in my box. two days later we finally got some winter. Epic snowstorm of 21 inches.

Last November I put some of their peas, spinach, and lettuce seeds in the garden under burlap hoping they'd pop up in early spring. A couple weekends ago we had highs in the mid 50 fifties and they were just starting to come up.

Now they are under ice and snow, and we've had several days with lows below zero. :-(

It's been crazy mild and downright warm here in the Pacific NW this "winter". I was at the feed store this weekend and noticed they had some cool season starts out already so I decided to roll the dice on some lettuce, broccoli, spinach and peas. My kale and chard survived the winter and are actively growing. We'll almost certainly get a good hard freeze now.

I'm so excited about gardening this year. We're expanding the three raised beds we have by a little more than double the SF. We're adding 4 apple trees as well.

I'll look into Johnny's seeds (since I'm not in the NE) - thanks for the recommendation guys!

Johnny's is out of Maine, although I'm not sure if they produce all their seed stock locally. The nice thing about Johnny's is that you can buy large amounts of seed and not just packets. If you have a large garden or even a moderate-sized farm, then you can buy in bulk.

I'm so excited about gardening this year. We're expanding the three raised beds we have by a little more than double the SF. We're adding 4 apple trees as well.

I'll look into Johnny's seeds (since I'm not in the NE) - thanks for the recommendation guys!

Johnny's is out of Maine, although I'm not sure if they produce all their seed stock locally. The nice thing about Johnny's is that you can buy large amounts of seed and not just packets. If you have a large garden or even a moderate-sized farm, then you can buy in bulk.

I think they grow their own seed stock on 3 farms in Maine. I have gotten some bulk seeds from them: a couple varieties of malting barley and cover crops like buckwheat and clover.

Long time before we get into our garden, but this year we will be adding a hoop house. We are planting only open pollinated varieties this year so we can start saving seeds. +1 to Ronnigers, the German Butterball is a great spud and stores well, only some of the tiny taters are starting to get soft now. I think we went back to zone 3 after our last two winters.